A Historical Geography of Christopher Columbus's First Voyage and his Interactions with Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean

This book offers a unique account of Christopher Columbus's first voyage, the most consequential voyage in world history. It provides a detailed day-by-day account of the explorer's travels and activities, richly illustrated with thematic maps.

This work expands our understanding of Columbus's first voyage by mapping his sea and land experiences, offering both a historical and geographical exploration of his first voyage. Traveling chronologically through events, the reader builds a spatial insight into Columbus's perspectives that confused and confirmed his pre-existing notions of Asia and the Indies, driving him onward in search of new geographic evidence. Drawing from a diverse range of primary and secondary historical resources, this book is beautifully adorned with illustrations that facilitate an in-depth exploration of the connections between the places Columbus encountered and his subsequent social interactions with Indigenous people. This methodology allows the reader to better understand Columbus's actions as he analyzes new geographic realities with pre-existing notions of the "Indies." Attention is given to Columbian primary sources which analyze how those materials have been used to create a narrative by historians. Readers will learn about the social and political structures of the Lucayan, Taíno, and Carib peoples, achieving a deeper understanding of those pre-Columbian cultures at the time of contact.

The book will appeal to students and researchers in the disciplines of history, geography, and anthropology, and the general reader interested in Colombus.

• The Santa Fe Capitulations
• Palos de la Frontera and the Acquisition of Men and Ships
• The Plan
• Political Goals
• Notes

• The Columbus Map
• Columbus's Methodology for Calculating Global Distances
• Sequence of Conception: Enterprise to the Indies
• The First Voyage Maps of Columbus
• The Art of Navigation in the 15th Century
• Directional Methodology
• Nautical Mileage Methodology
• Notes

• The Journal of Christopher Columbus
• Sabotage as the Voyage Begins, August 3 to September 5
• The Lady Doña Beatriz Ines Peraza
• Notes

• The Voyage West Begins and the Deception of Recorded Mileage
• The Difficulty Measuring Latitude at Sea and Magnetic Variation
• Entering Unknown Waters (Sea of Darkness)
• Notes

• Looking for an Island, any Island
• A Nervous Crew Puts Pressure on Columbus
• October Arrives but Still No Land
• Notes

• The Day the World Changed
• The Lucayan Islanders Barter with the Europeans
• Exploring Guanahani
• Did Columbus Kidnap Several Lucayans?
• Notes

• Rum Cay, A Lucayan "Escapes"
• The Search for Gold Begins
• A Lucayan Village and Cemetery
• Isabella (Crooked Island) and the Search for Samoet
• Where is Cibao (Cuba)?
• Notes

• Columbus Believes Cibao is Cipangu (Japan)
• Searching for a Taino King (Cacique)
• A Lucayan Initiates Friendly Relations with Cuban Taínos
• Is This Cipangu (Japan) or Cathay (China)?
• The Ambassadors Describe a Large Taíno Village and Tobacco
• The Geography of Linking Religious and Commercial Goals
• Martín Pinzón Abandons Columbus
• Notes

• Exploring Bohio
• The Taíno of Hispaniola
• I am No God
• Columbus and a Cacique Break Bread on the Santa Maria
• Shipwreck, the Santa Maria Is Destroyed
• Notes

• Columbus and Guacanagarí
• Return to Spain or Continue Exploring?
• The Voyage Home Begins
• Along the Coast of Northeastern Hispaniola
• Notes

• Columbus Knows the Route Home
• A Change of Course for the Azores
• The Ocean Fury Unleashed
• The Azores Sighted and His Men Imprisoned
• A Run for the Mainland
• Portugal Sighted and Contact with King João
• Palos and Home
• Notes

• Triumphant Return at the Palace of Ferdinand and Isabella
• Plans for Voyage Two
• Notes

• Appendix I: History and Methodology of Columbus's Landfall
• Appendix II: Anchorage and Beach Landing Site
• Appendix III: Las Casas and Columbus on the Future of the Indigenous Peoples: A Comparison to the Portuguese Experience in São da la Mina
• Appendix IV: Columbus Vision for Spanish-Indio Relations on La Española (Hispaniola) in Comparison to the Existing Slave Conditions on the Canary Islands, circa 1492
• Appendix V: Slavery in the Pre-Columbian Americas
• Appendix VI: Latitude and Longitude Estimates for Daily Sailing Locations